Protective helmet.



C. LA F STOCKS.

PHOTECUVE HELMET. APPLICATION FILED vuov. 2s

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-; r D STA PROTECTIVE HELMET.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented. Oct. 30, 1917.

Application filed November 28, 1916. Serial No. 133,894.

\ To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, CLARENCE L. S'rooKs, a citizen of the United States,and a resident of Blue Ridge, in the county of Fannin and State ofGeorgia, have made certain new and useful Improvements in ProtectiveHelmets, of which the following is a specification.

My present invention relates generally to wearing apparel and moreparticularly to protective helmets, my object being to provide a helmetcapable of efiectively protecting the head, face and neck against flyingshell fragments and other missiles, and one capable of materiallyretarding bullets,- shrapnel and the like so as to reduce head, face andneck wounds as far as it is possible to do so by the employment of meansto that end of the general type specified.

Generally speaking my invention aims to provide a helmet consisting ofinner and outer casings resiliently spaced apart, together with meanswhereby to support the inner casing upon the head of the wearer and inspaced relation.

In the accompanying ing my invention,

Figure l isa vertical section through the helmet illustrating the samein position for practical use;

Fig. 2 is a horizontal section taken substantially on the line 2-2 ofFig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a front elevation with one of the front closing shutters inopen position;

Fig. 4 is a detail elevation looking at the lower inner portions of theconnected shutters;

Fig. 5 is a detail section of a portion of the guide for the upper edgesof the shutters;

Fig. 6 is a sectional detail illustrating in perspective one of theconnecting springs of the inner and outer casings, and.

Fig. 7 is a vertical section through a portion of a head-bandillustrating a slightly modified form as compared to that shown in theremaining figures.

Referring now to these figures, my invention provides an outer casing10, an inner casing 11 within and in spaced relation to the outercasing, and a head-band 12 within the inner casing for holding thehelmet upon the head of the wearer and maintaining the inner casing inthereto.

' The outer casing is of bell shaped condrawings illustratspacedrelation struction, formed in one piece of rigid material, preferablylight in weight, with a flaring lower edge 13, which as seen in Fig. 1is intended in use to extend downwardly a sufiicient distance to protectthe neck of the wearer, as Well as his head, the front of the casing 10being cut away to form an opening exposing the eyes and lower portionsof the face of the wearer, as indicated at 14: in Figs. 1 and 3.

The outer casing 10 is further provided 15 secured in horizontalposition across its front portion above its front opening 14, the upperportion 16 of which guide strip, as seen in Fig. 5, is offset to receivethereon the upper inwardly bent edges 17 of laterally sliding guideshutters 18, by movement of which toward one another, the front openingof the outer casing 10 may be entirely closed. The upper portions ofthese shutters 18 are preferably provided with suitably covered sightwhich the wearer may have view with the shutters closed. In shape theshutters 18 conform, lower portion of the casing 10, their lower edges20 being bent around the lower edge of the outer casing so that withtheir upper edges 17 in engagement with the guide strip 15, the shutterswill be effectively displacement and their lateral held against to openand closed posisliding movement tions provided for.

On its inner face adjacent its inner free edge, and near the lower endthereof, one of the shutters 18 is provided with a rigid hook 21, theother shutter having a similarly disposed hook 22 for engagement withthe hook 21 and loosely pivoted at its rear end at 23 to the respectiveshutter for this purpose, the movable hook 22 being controlled by aspring 24 and being extended through a bracket 25 secured to therespective shutter and into which the extremity of the hook 21 projectswhen the hooks are in engaged position in order to prevent their lateralshifting out of contact with one another, all as plainly seen in Fig.4:, the movable hook also having a pin 26 forming a handle extendingoutwardly through an arcuate slot 27 in the respective shutter so thatthe movable hook may be released from the exterior.

The inner casing 11 is supported in spaced relation to the outer casing10, and yield-;

openings 19, through so a 'with a transversely extending guide strip ofcourse, to the curvature of the ingl connected thereto by .a pluralityof U-shaped springs 28 extending in a series around its lower edge, thelower edge of the innercasing being terminated as clearly seen in Fig. 1some distance above the lower edge of the outer casing, and the uppercentral portion of the inner casing 11 being connected to the outercasing by a helical spring 29.

The inner casing 11 is in forward and rear sections 30 and 31, thelatter of which is provided with slots 32 at its sides and top as seenin Fig. 2, through which adjustable clamping screws 33 of the forwardsection project, in order that these sections may be adjusted relativelyto one another and rigidly secured in adjusted position for a purpose tobe presently described and to which end the inner ends of the U-shapedsprings 28, the outer ends of which are rigidly secured to the outercasing 10, are adjustably held in slots 34: around the lower edge of theinner casing 11.

The head-hand 12 is similarly in front and rear sections 35 and 36 sothat by the adjustment of the sections 30 and 31 of the inner casing 11,the sections 35 and 36 ofthe head-band 12 may be adjusted to snugly fitaround the head of the wearer as seen in Fig. 1, the head-band beingconnected to .the inner surface of the inner casing 11 and spacedtherefrom at the same time, by a plurality of connecting studs 37. Asseen in Fig. l, the head-band is preferably covered with a relativelysoft covering in order to prevent chafing the wearer and as seen in Fig.7 the head-band 38 may, in addition to its inner covering 39 beconnected to a reticulated inner head covering 40 to snugly embrace thehead within and out of contact with the inner casing 11.

It is obvious that ahelmet constructed as described may be comfortablyworn and readily assumed and removed, in addition to its protectivequalities.

It is furthermore obvious that with the inner and outer casings spacedfrom each other and each spaced from the head of the wearer, formed ofsuitable tough rigid material, the progress of bullets, shrapnel, shellfragments and other fissiles will be materially and efiectively retardedand the number of head wounds in time of war greatly reduced.

It is further obvious that with a protective helmet as proposed by myinvention, the

naeaeee 34 by virtue of slits 3? at the ends of the 1 slots, all as seenin Fig. 6.

The inner casing 11 may, if so desired, have side slots to receive theends of a chin strap and the like, for holding the helmet securely inposition, one of which slots appears in dotted lines in Fig. 1.

I claim 1. A protective helmet comprising inner and outer casings theformer of which is adjustable with respect to the latter, resilientmeans connecting said casings in spaced relation, and rigidhead-engaging means spaced within the inner casing and in sectionscarried by and adjustable with the inner casing.

2. A protective helmet comprising inner and outer casings, a rigidhead-band spaced from and within and carried by the inner casing, saidhead-band and said inner casing being formed in sections, and means foradjustably connecting the sections of the inner casing whereby to adjustthe said head-band to fit the head of the wearer.

3. A protective helmet including inner and outer casings, the innercasing of which is formed in relatively adjustable sections, springsconnecting the said casings and re siliently spacing the same apart,said springs being rigidly secured to the outer casing and havingadjustable engagement with the sections of the inner casing, and a rigidheadband spaced from and within the inner casing and in sections carriedby and adjustable with, the sections of said inner casing.

4. A protective helmet comprising inner and outer casings resilientlyconnected in spaced relation, the inner casing of which is sectional andadjustable and provided with an inner sectional head-band adjustabletherewith, and the outer casing of which is provided with a lowerflaring portion depending below the inner casing and provided with anopening at its forward portion.

- 5. A protective helmet comprising inner and outer casings resilientlyconnected in spaced relation, the inner casing of which is provided withan inner head-band, and the.

outer casing of which is provided with a lower flaring-portion dependingbelow the inner casing and provided with an opening at its forwardportion, and laterally sliding closures for closing the said frontopening, provided with sight apertures.

CLARENCE LA FAYETTE STOCKS. Witnesses:

J. C. STANBU'RY, H. G. Srom.

